Pension assets hit N3.8tn

From left: Former Governor of Kano State Senator Kabir Gaya, Acting Director General PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State and the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi at the Commissioning of the North-West zonal office of PenCom in Kano.

Chuks Udo Okonta

Pension assets has hit N3.8 trillion the Acting Director-General National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has said.

A statement by Head Communication unit PenCom, Emeka Onuora, said Anohu-Amazu, disclosed this at the opening of commission’s North-West Zonal Office in Kano.  

The Director-General told the guests at the event that the cardinal principle of separation of custody of funds from management and supervision has resulted in a Pension Scheme with sound internal mechanism for the transparency and accountability.

She noted that whereas the Pension Fund Administrators manage the funds, they do not have access to same as custody is vested in the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) and the Commission ensures both parties adhere strictly to regulations governing the funds.

She said this ring fencing of Pension Fund Asset and regulatory non-interference, has resulted in the consistent growth in a large pool of pension Assets of N3.8 trillion which are invested in structured and safe financial instruments.

The Commission, she also added, is refocusing greater attention to the supervision of the Old Defined Benefit Scheme of the public service with a view to stemming the tide of inefficiencies identified. This, she said, will be carried out through the Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD).

Anohu-Amazu explained that the establishment of zonal offices in all the six geo-political zones of the country is a deliberate attempt to encourage and facilitate compliance with the Contributory Pension Scheme, adding that the Commission expects the states in the North-West zone to renew their commitment by ensuring the speedy implementation of the CPS in order not to shut out their citizens from the benefits of a hassle-free retirement.

She appealed Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to spearhead the compliance of the states in the North-West zone with the Contributory Pension Scheme.

She said the office which is situated at No 22 Kazaure Road, off Barracks Road, Bompai, has a mandate to effectively extend the Commission’s services to all the seven states in the zone namely; Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kastina, Sokoto and Zamfara states.

She noted that four zonal offices located in Calabar, Awka, Lagos and Ilorin had earlier been opened by the Commission, adding that the North-East zonal office in Gombe has been established and will be formally commissioned.

The North-West zonal office in Kano was declared open by the Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. The governor expressed delight at the sitting of the North-West zonal office in Kano and assured the Commission of the state government’s support in its Pension Reform activities.

He also promised to re-examine the status of the state in terms of compliance with the Contributory Pension Scheme with a view to the state fully embracing the Scheme.

Anohu-Amazu noted that although the Contributory Pension Scheme is one of the most remarkable of initiatives that would bolster productivity and enhance industrial harmony, only three out of the seven states in the North-West zone, have recorded appreciable milestone, while others are at various stages.

She said Jigawa state which was the first out of the thirty-six states in the federation to enact its law on the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2005, had appointed Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to manage the Pension Funds which have a total value of N16.49 billion as at September, 2013.

She noted that Kaduna state adopted the CPS and enacted its law in 2007. It has also made significant progress in its implementation of the CPS, having registered 143,722 employees under the Scheme, with Pension Contributions of N9.46 billion as at October, 2013.

She added that the state had conducted an actuarial valuation and determined the accrued pension rights of its employees for their service prior to the CPS and established a Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund which currently has a balance of N1.6 billion. The state is however, yet to put in place, a Group Life Insurance Policy for its employees.

She said although Zamfara state adopted the CPS, enacted its law in 2005 and registered 63,254 employees under the Scheme and remitted N534.4 million as employee portion of the Pension Contributions as at November, 2013, it is yet to commence remittance of employer portion of Pension Contributions from the commencement of the CPS. It has also not put in place a Group Life Insurance Policy for its employees.

She said Sokoto state enacted its law on the Contributory Pension Scheme in 2007 and registered 46,808 employees with PFAs under the Scheme. The state is yet to commence remittance of the Pension Contributions.

“With regards to Kebbi state, it enacted its law on CPS in 2009 and registered almost 38,000 employees with PFAs under the Scheme. It has however not commenced the remittance of pension contributions. The status of Kano state shows that it enacted its law on the CPS in 2006. It is however, yet to appoint PFAs and has not transferred pension funds for management. Kastina state drafted a bill on the Contributory Pension Scheme which was reviewed by the Commission and found to be largely in conformity with the Pension Reform Act 2004 (PRA). It has however not translated the bill into law.

“The compliance status of the states in the North-West zone as indicated clearly shows the imperative for the states to expedite action on the full implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme,” she said.

There were goodwill messages from stakeholders in the pension industry. Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who stated that the Central Bank has been collaborating with PenCom for the success of the pension reforms, noted that the reforms guarantee a secured future for workers.

He pointed out that the pension industry has generated funds that could be invested in infrastructural developments. Senate Committee Chairman on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Dr. Alloysius Etok, advised the Commission to ensure that only the states that key into the Scheme would benefit from the pension funds.

He assured the Commission and the pension industry that National Assembly would soon pass the Pension Reform Bill 2013 to enable the Commission work more effectively.

House Committee’s Deputy Chairman on Pensions, Mr. Samson Okwu, commended the Commission for opening zonal offices in the country thereby bringing its activities closer to people.

He assured the pension industry that the National Assembly would make laws that would empower the Commission to make workers’ retirement pleasant.

President of the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria, Misbahu Yola, who pledged the operators’ continued subscription to the rules and regulations of the pension industry, urged the states to embrace the Scheme as this would give them the opportunity to access pension funds for infrastructural developments.

Others who delivered goodwill messages at the commissioning included the Vice-President  of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Mr. Issa Aremu, represented by Mrs. Fumi Elesho, the Trade Union Congress represented by Musa Lawal, the President of the National Union of Pensioners, Dr. Abel Afolayan and representatives of the governors of Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kastina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states